NAIAS 2015: the cars and technology of Detroit’s auto show – The Verge

The cars of the Detroit Auto Show in under three minutes

2015-01-13T18:44:05-05:00

The classic Auto Show Reveal is, all at once, both formulaic and endlessly unique. It usually involves a car whose lines are being teased from beneath a translucent sheet - but beyond that, the sky's the limit. Sometimes there are dancers, sometimes there are lasers, sometimes there are unicycles - but there's always a new, never-before-seen vehicle at the end of it.

Join us as we celebrate the spectacle, the majesty, and the ridiculousness of this year's North American International Auto Show, along with nearly every car revealed over the past two days. Even if you hate cars, it's hard to hate a good unveiling.

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Tesla added a feature back to the Model S after Elon Musk’s kid called it ‘the stupidest car in the world’

2015-01-13T18:26:47-05:00

Tesla CEO Elon Musk says he brought a feature back to the company's top-of-the-line sedan only after the change received negative feedback from his offspring. Speaking to attendees of the Automotive News World Congress today in Detroit, Musk said that one of his kids called the Model S "the stupidest car in the world," because it didn't have reading lights in the back. The feature had originally been removed because Musk and others believed people would use backlit devices. One of his five kids thought (and said) differently, and the lights were brought back.

Tesla originally said the removal of the lights was to increase the headroom in th …

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I rode in a 3D-printed car (and I kind of liked it)

2015-01-13T14:07:22-05:00

A quick look at the Local Motors Strati might elicit a reaction like, "why does it look like it's made out of Rubbermaid garbage cans?" It's a fair question - continuous tubes of dull black plastic outline virtually every major component of this car in places where you'd normally expect bright, shiny colors. Metal. Chrome. Pretty stuff.

There's a good explanation, though: the Strati is basically willed into existence by an enormous 3D printer that extrudes those lines of plastic making up the car's frame. After that, it's refined using a CNC milling machine, a few mechanical bits are slapped on, and boom, you have a running car.

Local Moto …

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Verizon Vehicle turns your old ride into a connected car

2015-01-13T12:55:53-05:00

At the North American International Auto Show today, Verizon rolled out a new service called Verizon Vehicle that's basically a way to modernize a car that's already on the road by connecting it to telematics services - think of it like an OnStar that you can install yourself. The system includes a module that plugs into a car's OBD port, a Bluetooth speaker, and a smartphone app.

Like an OnStar you can install yourself

Verizon Vehicle includes a variety of features: roadside assistance, automatic notification if your car is suspected to be in an accident, a vehicle locator (so you can't get lost in a parking lot), stolen vehicle tracking, a …

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Forza Motorsport 6 is coming, and the Ford GT will be the star

2015-01-12T19:45:02-05:00

What better place to announce the next version of a famed racing simulator than at a car show?

Microsoft and Ford have teamed up to announce Forza Motorsport 6 this evening at the North American International Auto Show, which will feature the new Ford GT as its "cover car." (Forza Horizon 2, the last game in the series, featured the Lamborghini Huracán; Forza Motorsport 5, a launch title for the Xbox One, featured the McLaren P1 hypercar.) The new F-150 Raptor and Mustang-based GT350R, which debuted at the show today alongside the GT, will also appear in the game.

Details of the game are few and far between

"This is our 10-year anniversary …

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The Ford GT and Acura NSX: two classics get reinvented in Detroit

2015-01-12T18:42:05-05:00

It's been an incredible, wonderful day for cars. Any auto show is a good one, but this year's NAIAS in Detroit has been a doozy: the Ford GT and Acura NSX, two storied supercar marques with 75 years of combined history, are back in the mix and spitting fire.

Two mid-engined beasts

They're both mid-engined beasts that are made in America (the NSX will be manufactured in Ohio) and cost well into the six figures, but that's pretty much where the similarities end. The GT traces its roots back to the '60s and a business deal gone bad between Ford and Ferrari; the NSX is young by comparison, having gone into production "only" 25 years ago. The new …

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Local Motors just 3D-printed a car live at an auto show

2015-01-12T16:01:02-05:00

Auto shows are typically a place to debut cars, not to build them - but then again, Local Motors isn't your everyday automaker.

The printing of the car takes 44 hours

The Phoenix-based company crowdsources the design of its cars (like the oddball Rally Fighter), and it's showing a refreshed version of its 3D-printed Strati model here. But here's where it gets weird: Local Motors is building the Strati right on the floor of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit with printing and routing equipment that it brought in just for the occasion. The machines, encapsulated in glass for safety's sake, don't take much more room than a ve …

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The new Acura NSX is finally here

2015-01-12T12:06:18-05:00

To say that the new NSX has had a long, fraught journey to production would be an understatement: the on-again, off-again supercar was first introduced as a concept car back in 2007. Now, in 2015, we finally know what the production model will look like.

The hybrid mid-engine NSX succeeds the legendary first-generation model, a hand-built, all-aluminum exotic that lasted in Honda's stable for a full 15 years - so basically, the new version has a lot to live up to.

Acura notes that in the middle of development, it made a game-time decision to change powerplants - the new NSX still a hybrid, but instead of a normally-aspirated engine, it's u …

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The new GT is the sickest car Ford has ever made

2015-01-12T09:54:20-05:00

If the ridiculous mob that formed around the car this morning is any indication, the new Ford GT is going to be one hell of a car.

The successor to Ford's famed line of GT models - most recently produced in the mid-aughts - the latest GT uses a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 making over 600 horsepower. Designed to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the car will go into production late next year for sale in "select global markets" - and needless to say, it won't be cheap.

It's not all engine, though; there's technology here, too. Ford is quick to note that the recently introduced Sync 3 system will be included on the GT, which is made primarily o …

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2016 Chevy Volt rolls out in Detroit

2015-01-12T09:09:55-05:00

After a quick peek last week at CES and a press release earlier this morning, Chevy fully unveiled its next-generation Volt at Detroit's North American International Auto Show today.

The big news - other than the sleeker, all-new design - is that electric-only range has increased about a dozen miles to 50. At that point, a gas engine kicks in, offering a total range of "more than" 400 miles before a fill-up and recharge are necessary. The engine is all-new, a 1.5-liter unit that takes regular gas and delivers a combined fuel economy of 41 mpg when in use. Charging comes in 4.5 hours connected to a 240-volt source.

Inside, the Volt carries …

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